Letters: Award-winning Sandsend sea defences ‘own goal’

I’m very pleased to see the Whitby Gazette pushing the campaign for Whitby against plastics.

As such I would like to bring to your attention to the environmental own goal that is happening at Sandsend.

The ‘Award Winning’ Sea defences are breaking down and disgorging plastic filaments into the sea.

I’ve attached one of many photographs I took Friday March 9.

You should be able to zoom in and see the problem.

The construction used plastic filaments about 5mm long within the concrete to strengthen the structure, these are what you can see are now being freed as part of erosion caused by sea, pebbles and sand.

This is happening over 75% of the structure particularly at the bottom which is constantly in contact with the sea and beach.

After construction at a beach clean hundreds of these filaments were collected then, so it has always been an issue.

I have today written to North Yorkshire County Council to seek their views on any remedial action and asking them to condemn this method of construction.